Where?
by Koriand'r the warrior princess
Summary: Where are you? Why did you go? How did you go? When will I find you? Why can't I find you? Please come back to me... Come back! Where are you...now that I need you the most? Where is Artemis? When will Wally become himself again? Are they both gone forever? XSpitfireX Little of XChalantX
1. Chapter 1

**Hi first Spitfire, so yea. Personally I think it's one of the best ships EVAR! Hope u like and plz review. Not very experienced fanfic writer and, to be honest, don't really know how to work this ... But yea!**

 **Own Young Justice? What? Newp!:3 If I did it wouldn't have ended and (spoiler, cover eyes if you wish) would NOT have killed off Wally... Still trying to get over that (sniff,sniff) K! Enough with my rambling! Please Enjoy!**

Where?

Where are you? Why did you go? How did you go? When will I find you? Why can't I find you? Please come back to me... Come back! Where are you...now that I need you the most?

He stood in front of the hologram of Artemis, standing tall and proud. Stinging tears ripped through the ducts in his emerald eyes, while he sank to his knees. Still gazing at the face he so longed to hold, to feel and to just...see. He missed her so much, even the constant arguments they had. He liked her...a lot. But didn't have the guts to say it and was too proud to admit it. It had been a month and she was still missing. No one knew where she was or even if she was taken. But her disappearance had taken a toll on Wally; he hadn't slept, he hadn't trained, he hadn't gone on missions, he hadn't even eaten! All his team mates were worried, his eyes had ugly bruising rings underneath and his fiery hair was a tangled mess. All he did was investigate her disappearance and follow leads that would always be a dead end. That was it, not a trace, not a single message, not even a clue. He spent all his time searching, but never finding and would sit alone, in silence. He dragged himself to his room, his eyes red from the tears. He collapsed onto his chair as the door slammed shut behind him. Sighing, he thought, 'I failed her.. It's all my fault, all my fault, all my fault'

"Wally, please come out! We can help you... It's not your fault," M'Gann said in his mind. She, Robin, Conner, Kaldur and Zatanna were at his door. Sudden rage burst through his veins. "GET...OUTTA...MY... HEAD!" He screamed, whipping around. His bloodshot eyes wide with anger. They all took a wary step back at his sudden outburst. M'Gann flinched at his harsh tone, eyes wide with shock. "Wally! Snap OUT OF IT!" Robin shouted, his young face contorted with anger and sadness. "DON'T take your anger out on her... On ANY of us. What happened to you... We know how hard it is! We're here for you and we're still searching and searching and searching. We've done everything we can. She could be dead, Wally. But we're not giving up just like you're not! Please, we don't want to lose you now... Artemis wouldn't want you to do that." Wally looked as his uncontrollably shaking hands...what had become of him? That happy, snarky, witty Kid? No, he had died and in his place a madman. "I'm- I'm so sorry... M'Gann I'm so sorry. It's all my fault, all my fault, all my..." He said, falling from his chair. Robin caught him and helped him up. "Just... Leave me alone okay? Please..." He whispered. They all shook their heads,"No, you don't have to be alone. Heck! Wally you're ill! You're in your worst state ever! Even if you could find her you couldn't help her like this! Please, we want our friend back, Artemis wouldn't want that..."

"WELL SHE'S NOT HERE! Can't you see! And your best friend died when she disappeared." Wally growled, standing up. He brushed past his saddened team mates and stormed down the hall, his enraged steps violently raking through the cave.

It was only then the team looked at the walls of his darkened room. They gasped, then dropped into saddened expressions, it was littered with shabby notes and bloodied pictures. Scissors, ragged and splashed in red were littered on the desk. Tapes grasping out, connecting clue to clue, lead to lead, a piece of evidence to another. They saw a picture they had taken at the Happy Harbour fair, Wally and Artemis were smiling widely. His arms were wrapped around her playfully and her hand was giving him bunny ears. Tear stains blotched out his face and the edges of the photo. They all looked to the middle of his wall, their saddened expressions, once again turned to shock. In the middle was written in Crimson ink," All my fault"

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"W-Wally... What have you done to yourself..." Tears rolled down from the widened silvery grey eyes that were illuminated by the screen in front of her; running down to her messy blond hair "What have you done..."


	2. Chapter 2

The new lead

Robin sighed. "Where are you Artemis..." It had been another month, no sign of the archer anywhere. Though Wally still avoided everyone he seemed to be in better shape. He slept more often and worked out. Though his moods varied he seemed calmer, after his confrontation with the team he seemed less angry. But every day they got more and more worried about Artemis. Robin felt so hopeless, he had searched and searched but to no avail. All leads were dead ends, useless. No sign of the girl was to be seen. He felt like he was groping at a misty curtain. The answer should be clear...he was raised by the world's greatest detective, why couldn't he solve this case? What was he missing? He felt a hand on his shoulder, Zatanna. Her crystal blue eyes were clouded with worry, "Hey, you ok?" Though every thing was clearly not, he nodded. He was the one to usually keep a level head, be the one to not show emotion. But now all he wanted was to scream, tear at his hair and cry at the same time. Zatanna opened her mouth but instantly closed it. She didn't know what to say, what would she say? They heard a scuffle down the hall, like a certain someone tripping over their own feet... In a rush of wind they saw Wally in front of them. His cheeks were flushed and there was a slight twinge of a smile on his lips. Their mouths hung open, they hadn't seen him like this in so long. "I found a lead!" He exclaimed. They then smiled, another chance to find her! "We'll call up the team..."

"No! The more people go the less chance we have to rescue her," they raised their eyebrows. "My lead is in a warehouse. According to witness accounts, people have been in and out, we need to be careful." They both nodded. But they needed Miss Martian on this, com links could be hacked and didn't know what to expect or who for that matter.

They all hopped into the Bioship. The air was thick with tension, all of them nervous. "KF, are you sure about this?" He stopped at the look Wally shot him," I-I mean what if we don't... What if we don't find her. Another disappointment, could you take that?" Wally looked down.

"She's there, she HAS to be," he whispered, narrowing his eyes at the ground. They didn't speak another word until they arrived. They were faced with a large warehouse, on a port rising above the water, a massive shadow, black against the grey waters that lapped the shore. It was a crumbling building, years of battling the weather taking its toll. The windows were cracked and contorted, shattered reflections staring back at the world. The paint on the walls were dried and faded like all the colour that was once there was sucked out and drained. It seemed empty but a tiny flicker of light pinged, and they heard faint footsteps padding their way towards the door. ' _Move out_ ' Robin thought/said. They switched to stealth mode, scaling around the walls. Robin's breath fluttered and his heart pounded against his chest. Was she there? Who would be waiting for them? Was she gone forever? He pushed these thoughts aside and ran inside through the back door. The musky smell of damp hung in the air and Robin opened the heart monitor. Except for the teams' (which he had already traced), there were 3 others. Two were normal and steady but one was racing, the thump increasing and making a buzzing pulse on his arm, inhuman. He frowned, confused but shrugged it off. He ran through the surrounding corridors passing achingly empty rooms, hollow and eerily quiet. Something was wrong. ' _M'Gann_?' No answer. Maybe she was busy he thought, he hoped.

He started to get nervous, where was _everyone_ else? He checked the monitor, still normal. Something was really wrong. The pounding of his heart pulsates in his ears and his hands shuddered. He felt sick. What was wrong? Nothing had happened, nothing that he knew of, so why was he so nervous? His stomach coiled and clenched, squeezing painfully. The lights buzzed angrily and he sped up his pace to a fast sprint. Something was REALLY wrong, he felt it. Though his feet made no sound Robin thought they were echoing loudly and the the hallway seemed to get longer and longer, stretching out before him. The rooms on the sides started to have objects in them: chairs, tables, beds, lamps, even paintings. His brow furrowed. What was going on? Where was he? Now the monitor was screaming at him, _Stop! Turn around! Turn around! Run away! Get out of here!_ He swallowed and pressed on. Now all the rooms were the same. Each had a bed, a desk, a lamp, a chair and a picture. The pictures were of different people, all screaming. He came to a stop, dead end. He looked to the left and the right. The first open door was to another room, exactly like the others but without a picture. The desk had papers with red ink on them. The other was closed and bolted with multiple locks. He stepped into the open room, peering at the papers. The scrawled writing was repeating,'tick, tock, tick, tock' over and over again. He frowned, what was going on? He wandered over to the other door which had multiple scratch marks on it. _Strange_ , he thought. Though there were locks all of them were open and the bolt looked easy to remove. He lifted it carefully, curious to find out what was on the other side. It cracked open and he peered in through the tiny slit he saw a dark, concrete room with two wooden chairs at the centre of it. And there, in the middle of the room, was the thing he feared most, that snatched the breath out of his throat. Zatanna was tied up in the corner of the room with thick chains winding around her slim body. Her eyes were closed and red bruises were patched on her face and here mouth was bound tightly. Miss Martian was on another corner, her wrists held with chains that were...on fire! He was getting REALLY weirded out and worried. He wanted to free Zatanna and M'Gann but he had to keep his cover down and didn't want or need to get caught. His legs told him to move, to help Zatanna, he hated to see her like that. Her pretty face was beaten and bloodied and his heart gave a violent lurch. Suddenly he saw what was in the shadows, a face, no a man, oh Dear God . He gulped, no, it couldn't be! In the corner of the room, looking tight at him, was the Joker.


	3. Chapter 3

Losing it

"Arty? Artemis... are you there? Please, is anyone there?" Wally called softly, as he crept through the hallways. He smacked his head, that's what they did in horror movies, and the people who called out meaninglessly were ALWAYS the ones to die first. After Robin had told them to split up he had headed East, through the vents and eventually down a central corridor. He looked at the prepared map that Robin had mysteriously got hold of, he didn't ask and didn't want to know, and frowned. The place was like a maze, almost as if the building was made for a special purpose... he took in a shaky breath and carried on. He had no question Artemis was there, he could feel it. Maybe it was desperation, maybe it was the burrito he had eaten earlier for food.

'Classic Wally, even if you've gone all depressed you still have time for food...' M'Gann's almost cheerful voice sounded in his head. He rolled his eyes and reminded himself that M'Gann was still linked to his thoughts.

'Anyone heard from Robin yet?' Zatanna's concerned voice sounded in his head,

' No, but I'm sure he's fine, you know he likes to concentrate when he's in his ninja stealth mode!' M'Gann reassured. 'Hmm...' Zatanna thought, unsure.

'Guys, focus, Artemis!' Wally reminded them. They grew silent.

'Wait, what is th-' Zatanna's thought snapped off. Wally stopped, suddenly worried.

'M'Gann! What's wrong, where'd Zee go?' He thought, starting to jog, concern creasing his brow.

'Wally I don't- Oh my God! What-' M'Gann's voice screamed in his head.

'M'Gann! M'GANN! Dammit I've lost her...' he thought. Fear twisted and writhed in his stomach and his breath came stronger, faster,

"They're fine, it's ok, it's ok, it's ok..." he repeated like a frightened child. The hallway seemed to stretch further, the grey walls seemed to be taunting him, laughing manically. He kept going, though his mind seemed to be screaming for him to get out, to turn back, to stay somewhere safe, to find his friends. But he kept going, running, his eyes frantically darting from place to place. Finally, he came to a locked door, it was a rusty blue and had five locks on it. It was bolted, and nails were driven into the door. Seemingly, the person who was inside (if there was a person) was not meant to come out. He sighed, she must be there. It was so obvious and if not, it was always worth the shot. With hope sparking in his heart he phased through the door. He vibrated his molecules, causing a nose bleed when he phased through the metal. His head ached a little but he shoved it out. He was in pitch black. He couldn't pick up anything so he switched to X-ray vision. ( _Is that what his goggles are? Please correct if I'm wrong_ ) It made out an upright, board of some sort in the middle of the room.

But, on it, was a figure. He gasped, but immediately slapped a hand over his mouth. Could it be her? He started forward cautiously- _bam_! The lights blazed on with a force that he had to squint his eyes. He was going to look around the room, but there she was. Time seemed to go in slow motion, his bottle green eyes widened. Without a doubt he bolted forward, his breath hitching, a smile dancing across his lips... but that was when he REALLY looked at her. Pausing just in front of her, he touched a hand to her face. Her eyes were closed and her skin was deathly white. Ugly, black rings adorned her eyes. Her beautiful, blonde hair was ragged and dirty, the locks were chopped short and some left long. Her arms were slashed with thin cuts and burned with electricity scorches evident. Black and red marks patched her once golden, tanned skin. Her green uniform was in shreds that hung limply from her now bony frame. Her body lay on the tilted board with her head bowed in sleep. Her wrists and ankles were bound to the board by metal clasps. Wally was horrified. What had happened to her? He touched her skin gently and a tear of regret and sorrow swelled and trickled, his eyes were blurry and a sick and writhing feeling coiled and burst in his stomach. His throat was achingly dry and all the air seemed like it was imprisoned in his chest. He heard her soft breath, barely loud enough to hear, in ragged draws.

"Do you like what I've done with her?" A voice asked. Shocked, Wally whipped around to face a man in shadow by the door.

"I like to think of it as a make over, I did a great job don't you think?" He chuckled, a strange familiarity to his odd accent and manic laugh.

The shadow moved around the edge of the room, just out of the white light. Wally watched his with narrowed eyes, turning slowly where he stood.

"When she first arrived she was so defiant, always struggling to get out, it really hurt my feelings," the man purred in mock sadness, "then, after a few months she just, gave up! She didn't struggle or shout, just stayed quiet, except from screaming in pain." He laughed again.

"What did you do?!" Wally shouted, his muscles tensing and his voice quaking.

"You should have seen it, she was so good! She wouldn't tell me anything about your little team, usually I'm told I'm very convincing. She said your name a lot, Wally. She was so very pitiful, a frown on that little face. As you know speedy boy, I never like a frown that hasn't been turned upside down!" The shadow exclaimed while pacing around the room. Wally almost lunged for the man to make him pay for doing this, but his rational think stepped in and kept him from making a stupid mistake. He knew that he had to asses the situation before running blindly into battle, if he lost that wouldn't help Artemis at all. Wally's memory was foggy but he recognised the maniac, the way he moved was way to distinctive to forget, he just couldn't grasp the name.

"W-what did you do to her..." he whispered, anger bubbling in his stomach, his shoulders quaking in fury.

"Why my boy, I made her smile!" He shrieked, stepping into the light. Joker. His pasty skin even more white in the blaze of the lights. His smile impossibly wide and a menacing glint in his mad eyes. Wally turned to look at Artemis and finally noticed, a bloody line ran along the skin beside her mouth. And his eyes widened in horror because,

it formed a smile.


	4. Chapter 4

I want the world to laugh

"You!" Wally gasped. Taking a few steps back in shock he looked at Artemis again. A spear of anger seared through him, each cut along her mouth made him tip closer to the edge.

"Yes me! I throughly enjoyed it, every scream, every tear, every drop of blood. It's so, fun! That's my goal, you see. People think I'm after power, money, all that crap. No, no, no! I say, no! My goal is to cause chaos, to have fun, upset the balance that mankind has so meticulously set up for themselves. Otherwise, in simple terms, ANARCHY! People are so serious and ordered, living their lives in routine and when they live like this, they have control. People always want CONTROL. If they have no control, they lose their minds! I want them to lose sanity, I want society to crumble and most of all, my goal is to make every one, smile." he cackled, bringing his gloved fingers to his mouth and grinning. He walked in circles around the boy, his slow steps sounding like loud explosions in the almost deserted room. Wally couldn't talk. His anger, his fear, his desperation, clogging up his throat. His green eyes burned as he stood, frozen to the ground. Grabbing Wally's face, the Joker said, "Speechless? I am also told that I'm breathtaking. But, I'm more of a comedy man myself. I feel proud when I make someone smile. Like the pride when I made that girl smile, better yet. When. I. Made. Her. _Laugh_."

Wally frowned, worry beginning to wriggle its way into his mind as he stood, with the Joker's hands digging into his face and the smell of blood stinging his nose and filling his senses. He heard a soft chuckle, a rusty, rough, gravelly, huff. He turned, "Oh, no..." he whispered. There, eyes open, was Artemis. For a moment, the room was painfully quiet, Joker standing in the light and smiling, Wally shaking where he stood. And she laughed. She laughed. Again. And again. And again, until it built up into a manic screech, each burst louder than the last and each guffaw heaving her fragile chest, almost as if she could crack like a stone from the shrieks that erupted from her mouth. Her whole body convulsed and her eyes were wide and deranged. Her chinked hands flexed and grabbed at him.

"Go on little Arrow girl. Do what Daddy trained you to do!" Stepping back, the Joker let go of Wally's face and shoved him towards Artemis. The bonds that had held her snapped open and she stumbled of the board, laughing. She swayed towards him, her mad eyes wide and unrecognisable.

"Artemis..." he cried, backing away. This wasn't his Artemis, the one who he had countless arguments with, the one who called him ridiculous nicknames, the one who called him out when he was stupid. She carried on towards him, still laughing, hands in front of her, clenching and unclenching.

"Wally my dear, don't back away. All we want is for you to have a laugh with us. Is it so much to ask? You're her friend, shouldn't you except this new and improved version? I except her, in fact, I'm proud! I've turned her from an uptight Debby Downer to a laughing lass, ready to cause havoc and spread our joy to the world. Whaddya say, Wally, wanna smile?" He exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air. Wally couldn't speak, but he knew that this was it. The Joker had finally pushed it to the limit. He looked again at Artemis, his heart cracked and shattered as she mindlessly laughed, the cuts around her mouth opening again and bleeding.

"NO!" He screamed and ran at the green-haired loon. He ran so fast that he sent the laughing man into the wall with such a force that the wall cracked.

"I take it your are opposed to my genius! Ah well, not everyone likes a laugh. Just like your friend here, I'll have to _force_ you!" Wally snapped. He punched the Joker square on the face, his rage driving it faster, stronger. Blood spurted, bones cracked. Still he laughed, and each time he did, Wally hit him. Tears ran freely along his cheeks as each punch hit its mark. These were tears from all the months he had missed her, all the regrets that he didn't save her, that he didn't find her, that she was gone. The Joker slumped to the ground, chuckling.

"Artemis my dear, be a princess and kill him?" He asked, a threatening tone underlaying in the joking voice of this bloodied man. Wally turned to the barrel of a gun pointing at his head. She giggled.

"Please, don't do this, I can take you back. Back home. We can go to the cave, eat M'Gann's awful cooking. C'mon, Arty? Please, come back to me, please." He begged, his voice hoarse. She laughed. His tears still ran and his green eyes shone in desperation, he didn't want to lose her, not like this, not ever.

"Shoot him!" The Joker shouted. Artemis still stood on her shaky legs, the gun still pointed at Wally.

"Artemis, please... I love you," he whispered. Her eyes widened and she stopped laughing. The gun trembled in her hand. The she started laughing again, more desperately, more panicked. Tears burst from her eyes and Wally saw her coming back.

"Come on Artemis, fight it! Don't let him win!" Wally goaded. He could see the confliction in her eyes, madness trying to blacken her mind and sanity fighting to stay. She laughed. She cried. Her sobs mingled with her shrieks.

"Fight, dammit! Be the Artemis I know, the one who doesn't take nothing from nobody. The one who fights till the end. The one who never gives up! The one who is stubborn as hell and gives me a hard time. The one we all spent so long looking for, you're as much a part of our team as anyone, please, come back. You are a part of us, these last two months have been hell, without you, is hell. We can't lose you now, I can't lose you now." He begged, the Joker still on the floor behind him, Artemis still shaking and still glued to the spot. She wept now and turned the gun. On herself.

"Artemis, no!" Wally shouted. She backed up stumbling over her feet, chocked laughs bursting from her mouth. In one swift movement, Wally shackled and kicked the Joker, ran over to her, hand took the gun from her shivering hands. She fell to her knees, her legs finally giving out and Wally caught her.

"It's ok, I'm here, I'm here," He whispered into her hair as they sat on the cold floor together, so close and small. She cried and cried, all the pain and torture finally giving out as her tears carried these away. He stroked her hair gently, like if he touched her harder she would break. He whispered sweet nothings in her ear, his mask down. She held him so tightly, as if when she let him go he would vanish, and she would be alone again. In a dark hole of madness that she could never escape. Her throat hurt, her eyes stung, her whole body was in stabbing pain and yet she never felt more happy and more safe, than in his arms. She smiled.


End file.
